The present invention relates to clamp assemblies and, more particularly, to a novel clamp pad for being provided in association with a bar clamp for increasing the clamping area and for elevating and supporting the bar clamp with respect to a work surface.
Conventional bar clamp assemblies generally include an elongated pipe or rod, hereinafter collectively referred to as a bar, and a pair of opposing clamp jaws. The jaws of conventional bar clamp assemblies define parallel, opposed workpiece engaging surfaces. At least one of the clamp jaws is slidably disposed on the bar and selectively fixed in place at a desired position on the bar. A clamping actuator is further provided to linearly advance the other jaw towards and away from the one jaw, to selectively apply and release pressure to workpiece(s) disposed between the clamp jaws. Such bar clamp assemblies are conventionally used for holding a workpiece during operations such as cutting, drilling, nailing, screwing, gluing, and similar such manipulative procedures where the workpiece must be held steady or two or more workpieces held in predetermined relative positions.
When a bar clamp is used to clamp a workpiece, it is generally preferred to provide a protective layer between the face of the clamp jaw and the workpiece surface, to prevent damage or abrasion to the clamped workpiece by the jaws of the clamp, which are typically cast from steel. For this purpose, often a piece of scrap wood, or other relatively soft material, is interposed between the clamping jaw and the workpiece. Sometimes, clamp pads are disposed over the clamp jaws.
While the above-described conventional approaches provide some protection against damage, such as abrasion, it is often difficult to assuredly maintain the scrap material or conventional clamp pads in proper position to avoid damage to the workpiece and to securely clamp the workpiece(s). It would therefore be desirable to provide a clamping pad assembly which can be easily and assuredly mounted to a bar clamp assembly so as to be held and maintained in proper position relative to the clamp bar and the associated workpiece.
It would further be desirable to provide a clamp pad that provides additional advantageous functions such as to elevate the bar clamp assembly above a work surface to provide greater versatility in its clamping and supporting function.
The present invention provides a clamp pad for being selectively mounted to each jaw of a clamp assembly, such as a bar clamp assembly, that can be easily mounted to the clamp jaw and secured in place with respect to the bar clamp assembly. In an embodiment of the invention, the clamp pad is configured to selectively be fit on either of the clamp jaws of a bar clamp assembly to facilitate assembly of the clamp pads to the clamp. The clamp pad of the invention defines an increased clamping area to evenly distribute force and prevent damage to the associated workpiece. The increased dimensions of the clamp pad stabilizes and supports the bar clamp assembly, which eliminates tipping of the clamp and thus will also eliminate the need for associated assemblies such as clamp saddles and the like. Moreover, the ample size of the pad advantageously stabilizes the clamp on its side and allows clearance for the handle. Indeed, a significant advantage of the clamp pad of the invention is that it allows the clamp to be used on its side and top.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a clamping system for clamping workpieces that includes an elongated bar and first and second clamp jaws mounted to the bar, one of the jaws being selectively displaceable along the length of the bar and selectively locked in position on the bar and the other of the clamp jaws being selectively actuated to be displaced towards and away from the one jaw to lock at least one workpiece therebetween; and at least one clamp pad, each clamp pad being mounted to a respective clamp jaw, each said clamp pad comprising a front face for engaging a workpiece; a rear face spaced from the front face; a clamp jaw receptacle defined between said front and rear faces of said clamp pad, said the receptacle having an open bottom; a first cutout being defined in said front face to straddle said bar and a second cutout defined in said rear face to straddle a portion of the clamp jaw; and at least one locking component for selectively vertically locking said clamp pad to said bar.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a A clamping system for clamping workpieces that includes: an elongated bar and first and second clamp jaws mounted to the bar, one of the jaws being selectively displaceable along the length of the bar and selectively locked in position on the bar and the other of the clamp jaws being selectively activated to be displaced towards and away from the one jaw to lock at least one workpiece therebetween; and at least one clamp pad, each clamp pad being slideably mounted to a respective clamp jaw, each said clamp pad comprising: a first, front face for engaging a workpiece, a second, rear face spaced from said first face, a clamp jaw receptacle defined between said first and second faces, said receptacle having an open bottom end, and means for radially locking said clamp pad to said bar. In an exemplary embodiment, the means for radially locking said clamp pad to said bar comprises a cutout defined in said clamp pad for receiving the bar and a locking component for locking said bar in said cutout.